To meet the demand for transparency with regard to cosmetic products, the French-based group has chosen a very simple tool based on grades from A to D. This ‘Green Impact Index’ was designed to easily inform consumers about the environmental and societal impact of the group’s various cosmetic brands.
Formulas, packaging, certifications
Pierre Fabre’s Green Impact Index has been used internally for already two years to guarantee the "eco-socio-design" (grade A or B) of the group’s new cosmetics. Precisely, in addition to informing consumers, the Green Impact Index should also enable Pierre Fabre to improve the eco-societal profile of its products, in line with the aim of ensuring that half of its portfolio is eco-socio-designed by 2023.
The new tool was built using the 3,000 Life-Cycle Analyses (LCAs) that the Group has conducted for over 10 years. It is based on the evaluation of 20 criteria: 14 environmental impact criteria (including the eco-design of the packaging, the eco-design of the formula, the impact of the manufacturing of the product and the transportation of raw materials, etc.), representing two thirds of the final score, and 6 societal impact criteria (including Made in France, Bio, Fair Trade, France Guaranteed Origin and Vegan certifications or labeling, as well as the brand’s corporate social responsibility programs. These 6 criteria represent one third of the final score.
To ensure the reliability and validity of their rating system, Pierre Fabre has entrusted AFNOR Certification, an independent third-party organization, “to conduct an annual audit to verify and guarantee the reliability of the ratings carried out by Pierre Fabre on its products.”
Progressive roll-out
For the time being, the scores of certain products are available online, spanning the Pierre Fabre brands Avène, A-Derma, Ducray, Klorane, René Furterer, Naturactive, Elgydium and Arthrodont, and products ranging from face and body creams to shampoos, shower gels and toothpaste, not to mention essential oils and nutritional supplements. The aim now is to regularly add scores for new products, adding them directly to brand websites in the coming months.
"The Green Impact Index is a response to the growing distrust on the part of consumers and patients when it comes to brands and their ability to respect the environment, demonstrate corporate social responsibility and communicate information on these subjects in a transparent and verifiable manner.... For the first time, consumers will be able to choose a cosmetic or family health product with full knowledge of its eco-societal impact and with the assurance of reliable and detailed information, in a simple and straightforward manner," said Éric Ducournau, CEO of the Pierre Fabre Group in a statement.
